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Chef Maurizio comes to the door to ask “Sta bene?” (How is
it?) We reply “bravo, bravo” in response to the minestrone
in our bowls. This chef has spent the morning teaching us to
make typical Ligurian dishes in his kitchen. The minestrone
we are spooning in is a green vegetable soup with pasta and
pesto stirred in at the end. The green flecks flavor the
carrots, potatoes, greens, fresh barlotti beans, onion,
zucchini, and spinach that we chopped. We took a bowl of
fresh basil, golden olive oil, fresh garlic and pine nuts
then blended it into a rich green paste then we added cheese
and salt to make an aromatic pesto to be stirred into the
soup. The soup simmered away as we filleted fish that were
swimming in the sea yesterday. A simple dressing of olive
oil, tomatoes, olives and herbs from outside the door made
for a simple but elegant dish. The sweet at the end was a
simple “torta della nonna” (grandmother’s cake) dusted with
powdered sugar and cocoa and set in sweetened cream with a
drizzle of chocolate. The perfect finish to the meal was a
tiny glass of Maurizio’s homemade limoncino, a lemon liquor.
We ate on the large stone terrace on the hillside
overlooking the sea. A kayak floated into the blue water of
the cove below us and clouds hugged the tops of the
mountains behind us.
Italians love food and feel a deep connection between the
place they call home and what’s on their plates. The skill
of the chef and the use of fresh fish, local herbs,
vegetables in season and flavors from the region combined to
make a truly memorable meal.
If you’d like to meet the chef, see the incredible Cinque
Terre coastline and enjoy the village life of the Italian
Riviera then you can get more information about out Italian
Riviera Cooking Trip here. We offer our next trip there in
early September. We’d love to introduce you to our friends.
Benvenuto!
Get a detailed itinerary for the Italian Riviera Cooking
Trip, or the Cinque Terre Adventure Trip by clicking here or
go to www.WishYouWereTours.com or call 877-576-0975 to book
now.
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